An Exploration of Bioregional Herbalism

with herbalist & forager, John Slattery

Prescott, AZ

Saturday, October, 28, 2017

8a-2p

Learning to become a bioregional herbalist is as simple as going for a walk... again and again... and again. Deep connection through continued observation is the foundation for a bioregional herbalist. Knowledge is derived from experience, and wisdom through continued practice and observation of one’s environment.  Learning about the plants found naturally occuring around us begins to deepen our relationship to place. Little by little, patterns begin to emerge which inform us as to how we can use plants for medicine. 

If you are called to develop relationship with the plants around you for food and medicine, but unsure how to begin, then this class is just for you. Also, if you have been gathering knowledge about the plants around you, but would like to go deeper, this workshop is also for you.

In this workshop we will explore the fundamental aspects of becoming a bioregional herbalist: developing relationship with place and the plants within it. This endeavor leads us to the study of field botany, respectful wildcrafting and participation with our environment, plant energetics, landscape observation, developing and exercising the senses (particularly the feeling sense), and applying these medicines for well-being and healing utilizing our knowledge of our homeland and plant energetics. Several plants will be identified, sensorily explored, and discussed in depth.

We’ll venture into this terrain together as a group, while exploring various aspects of what becoming a bioregional herbalist means. The exercises in this workshop will introduce the participant to a method of learning which is empowering, distinctly individualized, unusually contextual, and highly experiential. 

Whether your path is simply one of curiosity or you feel a deep, inexplicable pull to walk this road, you will find powerful tools in this workshop to realize what you are after.  

There are many important aspects of becoming a bioregional herbalist. First and foremost is a deep relationship with the place you are in. As an herbalist, our focus is primarily on plants, but we can diffuse our focus peripherally into the landscape which contains and nourishes these plants to pull in a broader context. This workshop ties together pragmatic approaches to learning about our environment with the feeling relationship that extends to all living things. This feeling relationship is as real for us as any data or information conveyed by the experts in this field. We simply need to pay attention to it.

We’ll take the time to explore the basics of identifying plants in the field according to the science of botanical taxonomy. This will offer the participant an intimate perspective on the plants we work with while enlivening the curiosity of the students. We’ll also be exploring plant energetics with the plants we meet while viewing, experiencing, and ingesting preparations made from these plants. This workshop is a full immersion in the experience of learning plants as medicine; plants as living entities.

Join bioregional herbalist, John Slattery, for this intensive workshop to begin to transform your approach to working with plants. Starting in your own backyard you can become a master of the wild food and medicine that grows within arm’s reach. Then begin to branch out with the basic principles and practices learned in this workshop to continually learn more about your local environment including unique ways to apply the herbal medicines you learn about. Developing relationship with your local plants while learning to identify them can open up many opportunities for gaining unique knowledge about the plants you work with, and support further research into the ethnobotany and scientific research of other cultures across the globe. 

Our class will take place in the Prescott National Forest. Upon registration, you'll receive detailed instructions for our meeting location (within 30 minutes of downtown Prescott) the morning of the class and anything you may need to bring with you for the day.